STOPPED Program Helps Keep Teen Drivers Safe

February 7, 2006There have been several recent wrecks around town and many of them were deadly. News 12 shows you a growing program in Columbia County hoping to stop teen wrecks.

Greenbrier student Jessica Beall has only been driving for eight months, but has already learned some rules of the road.

“Most of the time it’s not that bad. In the parking lot here at school it’s really crazy because everybody’s trying to leave at the same time. That’s the only time it’s really bad,” said Beall said.

In fact, her parents signed her up for the STOPPED program, which provides a decal with an ID number. Anytime the car is pulled over, parents are notified, even if a ticket isn’t issued.

“I think something came in the mail and my parents just got a sticker for all three of our cars,” Beall said.

And the program is still growing. Last month, it reached the 100 mark. Now, 118 drivers are signed up. It’s all in hopes of keeping teen drivers safe in light of recent tragedies. An accident on Bobby Jones Expressway killed four people. And just weeks before that two high school students died in Edgefield County. Witnesses estimate the car was going 70 in this residential area.

And just down the street from Greenbrier High School is a daily reminder for all students. On William Few Parkway is a small memorial for Ryan Powell, a Greenbrier student who died when a car crashed into this pole more than a year ago.

To sign up for the STOPPED program, call the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office at 706-541-2856.

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